Report: Electronic Payments for Unattended Terminal Popular Among Consumers

Nearly half of consumers from the United States, United Kingdom and Australia have used credit and debit cards at unattended car parking meters, kiosks, exit barriers, and food and drink vending machines, a new study from Transaction Network Services has found.

Forty-six percent of respondents said they have used their credit and debit cards at unattended terminals relating to parking, where 45 percent report that they’ve used their bankcards at unattended food and drinks kiosks and vending machines. Among the three nationalities surveyed, Australians were the most likely to use electronic payments at unattended parking meters with 55 percent reporting usage. Among Americans, 42 percent of respondents reported usage where 40 percent of UK citizens reported usage at unattended parking terminals.

But consumers across the three nationalities are interested in having electronic payments as an option at unattended terminals. Seven in ten respondents said they would prefer unattended vending machines or kiosks that accept both card and cash payments, and half said they prefer to use electronic payments rather than cash for low-cost items at vending machines – if there is no surcharge for use. And 42 percent of respondents said they prefer to use their bankcards at unattended ticket kiosks rather than buying or collecting tickets from a person.

Security concerns persist, the study found. Just under two-thirds of respondents – 63 percent – said they believed using credit and debit cards in unmanned vending machines and kiosks put them at risk of card fraud.

The survey, commissioned by ETA member Transaction Network Services, was conducted b Kantar TNS in March and survey panels of 1,027 US adults, 1,024 UK adults and 1,032 Australian adults.

View the infographic here.